Ariabella: The Tribute Who Danced (A Hunger Games Fanfic) Book 1

5.

The next morning I wake up without Chrysanthemum waking me.

I lay there for a few minutes before slipping out of bed and getting dressed in the training clothes that are left on the dresser.

The training outfit is a black tank top with a white 12, black capri athletic pants with a white stripe, a black and white athletic jacket, and black and white sneakers.

I brush my dark brown hair out then pull it into a ponytail to keep it out of the way.

I head out to the living room to find Grayson sitting on the couch, half asleep.

"Grayson!?" I call in a quiet voice, careful not to wake anyone else.

Grayson looks over at me, surprised.

"Oh, it's you, you scared me," Grayson says before looking back at the tv that is on with super low volume.

I walk over and sit down on the chair which is right next to where he is on the couch.

"What are you doing up so early?" Grayson asks. I look at the clock and realize we still have over 3 hours until training starts.

"I don't know, just nervous for training I guess," I reply, "what about you? You look like you've been out here for a while."

"Same reason as you I guess, I also miss my family very much," Grayson says.

I'm just about to ask him about his family when Grace walks into the room.

"Oh, you guys are up early," Grace says and walks over and sits down next to Grayson.

We sit in silence for a minute or two until in decide to eat.

"I'm a bit hungry," I say and stand up. I head to the kitchen and grab two pastries and two glasses of juice then take them to the coffee table in the living room. I hand a pastry and a glass of juice to Grayson.

"Thanks," Grayson says with a smile before taking a bite.

After about thirty minutes of watching Capitol comedy shows, Chrysanthemum comes out and joins us.

"Ah, I'm so glad I didn't have to wake you two up," Chrysanthemum says before sitting down at the dining table and starts eating her breakfast.

"You two should probably head down to training now, get there early," Grace says and leads us to the elevator.

Grayson and I get in the elevator and press the button that says training.

There are a few moments of awkward silence before the elevator dings and the doors open to the training center.

When we walk in, all of the careers are there, as well as the pair from 7, Ginger who's 13 and Paxton who's 15.

I start walking towards the knife throwing station, and I hear the careers start laughing.

"Ha, good luck 12," snickers the girl from 2, who I think is named Mallorie.

I roll my eyes and pick up a knife. I think about how I've seen other people throw knives, and throw the knife at the target.

I expect it to totally miss and make a fool of myself in front of the careers, but I don't miss. I hit it right where I was aiming, the heart.

My eyes widen in amazement, and I turn to see the careers have the same look on their faces.

I smile and pick up another, and aim for the forehead. I hit it. I keep going, aiming for the stomach, and the neck.

When I'm done, I smile innocently at the careers then walk away and head to the knot tying station.

"Hey, that was pretty good over there," says a voice. I turn around to see Ginger.

"Thanks," I say with a smile then she walks away.

After about fifteen minutes, the rest of the tributes finally arrive.

"Tributes, gather around," says a lady.

We go and gather in a group in front of her.

"Welcome to your training. You will have two full days of group training, a half a day of private training, then half a day of evaluations," says the lady, "a few rules, no fighting, save that for the arena, and also, make sure you focus on survival skills as well as a weapon, those are very important too."

We go to turn but she adds one more thing.

"Oh, and the head gamemaker will not be here until tomorrow, his wife is having a baby," she says before she let's us go.

"Honestly, nobody cares why the head gamemaker isn't here," Grayson whispers to me as we walk away. I giggle at his comment.

I decide I want to head to the station for throwing axes. I pick up the axe and hold it in my hand. It's heavier than I expected, but I manage to throw it. When it hits, it hits the left thigh.

Oh well, that's pretty good for a first throw.

I continue throwing axes until I can finally hit the heart.

I decide to do a bit of survival skills, so I head over to the fire making station.

I sit down and start making the fire, but I struggle.

"Do you need help?" Asks a familiar voice. I turn to my left and see Ginger again.

"Yes please," I say with a laugh. Ginger giggles then picks up a flashlight and a piece of glass.

"Watch this," Ginger says. She shines the flashlight down on the glass which is positioned over the wood. She moves the angle of the flashlight and the glass until some smoke comes from the wood. Eventually a fire starts.

"Wow, that looks pretty easy, thanks," I say to Ginger. She smiles shyly and walks away. She's pretty quiet.

After spending more time there, the lady announces that training is over and it's time to leave.

Grayson and I get in the elevator and head back to our floor.

"Ahh, welcome back," says Chrysanthemum when we walk in.

We sit down at the table where dinner has already been prepared for us.

"How was training?" Asks Grace.

"Pretty good, I learned to throw knives and axes," I say.

"Awesome, what about you Grayson?" Grace says.

"I learned to throw spears and knives," Grayson replies.

"Did you make any allies?" Grace asks.

"The girl from 7 seems nice, Ginger, but I don't know if she's looking for an alliance," I say.

"I just assumed Aria and I were going to ally," Grayson says.

I look over at him, confused. He never mentioned an alliance to me.

"Ariabella, is that OK with you?" Grace asks.

"Yeah, I guess so," I reply and continue eating.

____

We finish eating mainly in silence before I decide to go to my room and shower.

It feels good to wash off all of the sweat from training.

I get out and lay on my bed. I still don't really know why Grayson would want to be in an alliance with me. Does he like me? No, probably not. But does he?

I decide to forget the whole thing and drift off to sleep.